Apparatus for obtaining moisture regain



June 11, 1946.

w. N. HADLEY 2,401,927

APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOISTURE REGAIN Original Filed Aug. 17, 1944 -2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR W/LFRED HADLEY I BYVKV/MM/ZY 11122511 ATTORNEYJune 11, 1946. w HADLEY 2,401,927

APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING MOISTUREREGAIN 1 Original Filed Aug. 17,, 1944 2Sheets-Sheet 2 A TORNEYS 'ject is stock is subjected Patented June 11,1946 Wilfred N.

V Hadley, Springfield, Vt., assignor to Parks & Woolson Machine Co.,

a corporation of Vermont Original application August 17, 1944, SerialNo. 549,916. Divided and this application April 27, 1945, Serial No.590,708

4 Claims. (Cl. 342) though it may also be used for. treating othernatural or synthetic fibres in various forms. One object of theinvention is to provide an improved apparatus for obtaining moistureregain with both control of the amount of moisture takenon and capacityto increase the absolute amount of moisture taken up by the fibres.

The purpose of the invention is to improve upon prior apparatus used bythe textile industry at the present time, not only to effect regainquickly, but also to increase the amount possible to and above thenormal regain of 14.2% and in a controlled manner. A further andimportant obto make available an improved apparatus by whichth'e.product in the form of scoured or dyed fibrous raw stock. top. yarn orcloth. may

. be rapidly and continuously impregnated with normal or desired amountof moisture and may thereupon be immediately packaged for shipment oruse, thereby eliminating the long time period heretofore required toobtain normal moisture regain and the additional handling of the stockas heretofore required.

Due to the intense heat used in the drying of wool stock after scouringor dyeing, the moisture is driven off to such a degree that theresulting woolfibre is so called "bone dry" and brittle when in thiscondition. During the picking and carding operations that follow thedwitm'these fibres would be broken where there is no regain present tolubricate the fibres, so to speak. as they come in contact with the wireclothed picker and card rolls that tend to arrange fibres in parallelposition with relation to each other. Broken and short stapled fibreresults in poor spinning and weaving qualities and iii-reducing thevalue of the finished toll. yarn or fabric.

v The same danger is ever present while this wool to additional top andyarn preparatory operations. such as gilllng, combing and drawing. Herethe stock is drawn through needled fallers and cylinders further toarrange the fibres parallel one to the other. The mere drawing of onefibre along adjacent fibres will cause breakage when not conditionedproperly to lubricate the fibres and scale of the fibres. Yarns made upof short staple stock cause breakage of the product in the loom andnecessitate more mending of the cloth with resulting oorer qual ity.

W001, top, yarn and fabrics are sold to exact moisture weightspecifications, the normal moisture content of wool being 14.2% byweight, and it will be apparent that substantial loss is sustained ifthe moisture content is below normal. For example, if the product hasbut 5% regain by weight, 9%%'extra wool must be present to make. up thedeficiency. My invention permits the immediate and controlled additionof moisture regain to balance the deficiency and thereby effectssubstantial savings as'will be readily understood.

Prior methods employed in imparting this regain have included (1) theexposing of the product to moisture charged areas supplied by atomizedwater or steam vapor and (2) the storing of the wool. top. yarn orfabric in a damp cellar for days during which it absorbs the requiredamount of moisture. The latter method is satisfactory from thestandpoint oi regain obtainable but the time and work factorsirequiredmake it impracticable under modern commercial conditions. The remainingknown methods and apparatus not only fall short of imparting the 14.2%normal regain, realizing at their best but 1% regain, but I furthermoreare slow and impossible to control. In contrast to these prior methodsand apparatus which provide no standardisation of regain. my improvedapparatus is adaptable to the treating of fibres, top, yarn, or textilematerial in any stage of manufacture and enables the manufacturer toimpregnate the stock quickly and economically and to fix therein andexactly regulate in percentage the desired amount of regain irrespectiveof transient conditions of the atmosphere.

In accordance with my invention. the wool stock as it comes from thedrier is subjected to saturated steam, and immediately thereafter it issubjected to a sub-zero temperature for a time period sufficientsuddenly to chill the stock and quickly condense and fix the moisturetherein. I have herein illustrated and described, by way of example,improved mechanism for-carrying the process into execution and includingmeans for controlling the percentage of regain by regulatingthe-diameter and volume of steam employed and the speed or the productthrough the treated areas. The mechanism also preferably includes a deepfreeze unit maintained at a temperature approximating F. and to whichthe stock is immediately conveyed-following its saturation'by the steamand I have ioundthat the subjecting of the stock to this temperaturefor. a period of thirty seconds is ordinarily sufiicient to eilect theobject of the invention. v y

I have proved in practice that the subjecting.

of woolen cloth in continuous web form to super-saturated steamimmediately followed by the passing of the cloth through the deep freezechamber effects the immediate fixing of 2. moisture regain in theindividual fibres to and exceedin 14.2% and such reg in remains substntially permanent under normal conditions. The amount of regain can becontrolled to a fraction of 1% enabling the operator to introduce anactual normal regain of 14.2% by weight or such variation thereof as maybe desired. In contrast to present day conditioning machines that atbest cannot produce in excess of 7% regain at a maximum speed of 18yards per minute, the production possibilities of my apparatus are up to100 yards per minute. The only presently available known methods ofimparting a total normal regain of 14.2% is by storage of the product inloose condition forseveral days in a damp cellar and such process isextremely limited and objectionable in several respects a will beunderstood. In contrast thereto, my invention permits the immediate andaccurate impregnating of the stock to th desired and normal degree ofregain andfurthermore'permits any further treating of the productimmediately, rapidly and continuously in a manner eliminating thedelays, uncertainties and repeated handlings of the product which havebeen required in processes heretofore known and employed,

These and other features of the invention will be best understood andappreciated from the fol- I lowing description of preferred embodimentsthereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in theaccompanying drawings in which, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of oneform of apparatus which I may employ;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of one form of apparatus for treatingstrip fabric in accordance .with my invention; and

Fig. 3 is a. diagrammatic view of an apparatus combining my inventionwith an apron steamer.

In Fig. l I have shown in diagrammatic form one apparatus for treatingwoolen stock or synthetic or other fibres in accordance with myinvention, it being understood that the construc-.

it had at the time of leaving the drier.

In accordance with my invention the stock I is received from an suitableconveyor upon a foraminous apron or conveyor 2. This apron passesclosely over a. steam chamber 3 which can be supplied with damp steamfrom any suitable pipe 4 having a control valve 5. The steam from thechamber 3 passes through the apron and through the wood stock, impartingto the latter a degree of moisture which can be regulated by the degreeof saturation of the steam and by the speed given to the apron 2.,Immediately after passing the steam chamber the apron carries the woolstock between refrigerating plates 6 and 1 which can be supplied witharefrigerant from any desired source through pipes 8. These plates may bespaced to form a chamber, or .may be in light contact with the stock,the exact form of refrigerating apparatus not being critical. Therefrigerant is maintained at a temperature sufficiently low so that themoisture present in the stock or cloth after the steaming operation willbe frozen practically instantaneously. Thus the steam saturated productis immediately chilled and thesteam-derived moisture contained in theprod uct is set and fixed, thereby establishing a substantiallypermanent moisture regain the degree of which is controlled by thevarious factorsheretofore described. If the saturation has been carriedbeyond the normal moisture content of the product the excess moisturetends to evaporate under normal atmospheric conditions.

In Fig. 2 I have shown an apparatus for carrying out the samefundamental idea to finished woolen cloth, which may be supplied from aroll .or from the usual apron steamer which gives the final finish tothe cloth. If an apron steamer, sometimes known as a semi-decator, iused, it may itself serve as a source of steam, as will be describedbelow, otherwise the'web 9 is fed over suitable guide rolls Ill acrossan open-topped steam chest H having within it suitable perforated steamentrance pipes l2. In the form shown the guide rolls III are arranged topass the cloth once or twice over the top of the steam chest in order toincrease the moisture regain for a given speed of the web, The cloththen passes over a guide roll l3 into a chamber ll provided with coilsl5 serving for the circulation of a refrigerant. .As in the former case,the refrigerant is supplied at a temperature sufliciently low to causepractically instantaneous freezing of the condensed steam vapor taken upb the fabric.

Guide rolls I 6 within the chamber direct the fabric in successivereversed paths to .increase its length of travel within the coldchamber, and the fabric leaving the chamber is directed by a guide rollI! to a positively driven windup roll I8 against which rests the usualwindup reel I9. The speed of the cloth through the chamber can beregulated by changing the speed of the driven roll I8. The cloth wi1lthus, be wound on the roll IS in a condition having a. controllableamount of moisture within it which can readily be regulated to give tothe cloth at the time-when it is wound on the roll-substantially thesame moisture content as that required by equilibrium between th clothand the atmosphere, under normal conditions.

. In Fig. 3 is shown a modification in which the usual apron steamer orsemi-decating machine is employed as the source of saturated steam. Inthis figure an apron steameris shown conventionally as mounted on aframe 20. Upon this frame is joumaled a hollow metal drum 2| having itsouter surface perforated with closely spaced holes. The drum is mountedon a shaft 22 which can be rotated by any of the usual means. To theinterior of the hollow shaft 22 is coupled a pipe 23 to which arecoupled branch p pes 24 and 25 having. valves 26 and 21 respectivelylocated in them. By one of these pipes 24 superheated or dry steam canbe admitted to the interior of the drum to be blown out through itsperforations; through the other of the pipes 25 suction may be appliedto the interior of the drum when desired.-- It will be understood thatone valve would be closed before the other one is opened. Other valveand piping arrangements may of course be substituted; Mounted on a shaft28 is a reel 29 for apron material 30 in [the form of a wide web ofsuitable fabric. The

cloth 3| to be treated passes over a smoothing bar 32 and over suitablesupply and guide rolls 33, 34 and 35 to a pair of tension bars 36 aroundwhich it is looped as shown. It then passes together with the apron 30over a roll 31 and is wound up on the large drum 2|. When the thicknessof cloth and apron on the drum 2| has been built up as much as isconvenient for the steaming operation the cloth is separated at a crossseam (it being generally supplied in a chain of standard lengths sewedtogether) and its second or following end is thrown over a stationarybar 88. A few extra turns of apron are wound on the drum and superheatedor dry steam passed through the cloth and apron for the desired period.The steam supply is then shut off and suction turned on through anotherline 25. So far the operation is the same as in standard apron steamingor semi-decating.

Leaving the fabric and apron still wound upon the dmm 2|,super-saturated or damp steam is admitted through a valved line 39 for alength of time suflicient to permit the dried-out fabric to regain thedesired amount of moisture. The apron is then wound back on the drum 29and when the end of the'fabric 40 appears it is secured to the end ofthe preceding run, or to a cotton'leader, which has been thrown over abar 4! at the conclusion of the preceding operation. The previous clothpiece. or the leader, hasits end projecting from the freezing chamber 42which, in the case shown, is provided with guide rolls 43 and pipes 44for the circulation of a re- 7 frigerant. A power driven wind-up roll 45receives the fabric from the chamber and winds it on a take-off roll 46.A guide roll 41 is employed to direct the remoistened fabric 40 from thetension bars 38 to the freeze chamber. It'

may be remarked that in general it will not be necessary to loop thefabric reversely about the tension bars 38 in withdrawing it from theroll II in the same way as it was reversely wound through these barswhile it was being wound up on the roll for the reason that tensionduring the freezing operation is not important. Subiecting the warm.moisture ladened cloth to the deep freeze chamber sets and flxes thismoisture in its state of permeation throughout each individual fibrecomprising the fabric and provides the normal amount of moisture regainwhich remains within and as a substantially permanent content of theproduct.

The process herein disclosed is claimed in my co-pending applicationSer. No. 549,916, filed August 17, 1944, of which the presentapplication is a division.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. An apparatus for treating strip fabric, comprising a steaming drum,means for passing said fabric to and winding it onto the drum, means 7for impregnating the fabric on the drum with through the chamber.

saturated steam, a freezing chamber adjacent to the drum, means formaintaining the chamber at sub-freezing temperature, and means forunwinding the steamed fabric from the drum and passing it through thechamber.

2. An apparatus for treating strip fabric, comprising a steaming drum,means'for passing said fabric to and winding it onto the drum, means forimpregnating the fabric on the drum with superheated steam, means forimpregnating the fabric on the drum with saturated stem. 9. freezingchamber adjacent to the drum. means for maintaining the chamber atsub-freezing temperature, and means for unwinding the steamed fabricfrom the drum and passing it through the chamber.

3. An apparatus for treating strip fabric, comprising a steaming drum,means for passing said fabric to and winding it onto the drum, means forimpregnating the fabric on the drum with superheated steam, means forsubjecting the fabric on the drum to suction, means for impregnating thefabric on the drum with saturated steam, a freezing chamber adjacent tothe drum,

means for maintaining the chamber at subfreezing temperature. and meansfor unwinding the steamed fabric from the drum and passing it throughthe chamber.:

'1. An apparatus for treating strip fabric, comprising a steaming drum,means for impregnating fabric wound on said drum with saturated steam, afreezing chamber adjacent to the drum, means for maintaining the chamberat sub-freezing temperature, and means for unwinding the steamed fabricfrom the drum and passing it

